Missing ScenesScene Tags
by NavyBrat84
Summary: A collection of missing scenes/scene tags to different episodes of NCIS. This will be updated as I see gaps in storylines. The episode will be above the title of each scene.
1. Chapter 1

**Shiva**

**Calling Shmeil to** **DC**

Tony blinked at the computer screen in front of him and gave himself a mental congratulatory pat on the back. Usually he would've had McGee track down a number, but he couldn't let him in on this. He couldn't even let Gibbs in on it yet. He would've shot him down with a steely stare and a head slap that would be felt for at least the rest of the day.

Pulling out his cell phone he quickly, but carefully punched in the number he had meticulously tracked down and waited as it rang. On the fifth ring the other end picked up, "Shalom!" a greeting full of giggles sounded in his ear. Tony startled for a moment. He wasn't expecting such a joyous greeting given the world he was currently in was so somber. "Hello?" the now not so giggly voice questioned.

"Hello. Shalom. Um, is Shmeil, Shmeil Pinkas, there?" Tony asked. He listened as a muffled call for Shmeil was made from the other end of the phone. He caught little Hebrew and he recognized the words asking who it was and what he gathered to be the other person saying he wasn't sure.

"Hello?" Shmeil inquired as he came on the line.

"Shalom, Shmeil, this is Tony DiNozzo. Ziva's-"

"Tony!" Shmeil greeted warmly, "Yes, Ziva's gentleman friend, very nice to hear from you."

Tony couldn't help the smile that settled on his lips for a moment. Shmeil was lively during their dinner together and he had managed a few stories out of him that made Ziva blush and squirm while making threats in Hebrew. Frankly, Tony loved it and planed on using the dirt he got on Ziva when the time was right. "I wish I could say that I'm calling with good news, Shmeil, but I'm not. I shouldn't be calling actually, but I was hoping that you could come back to DC-"

"Is something wrong with Ziva?" Shmeil worried.

"Not exactly, sir," Tony hesitated. "I can't tell you what happened over the phone. I know you're in New York, but she could really use you here, Shmeil," he let out with a heavy sigh.

"I will be there as soon as I can, Tony. Let me make-"

"No. No, Shmeil. I can get you the plane ticket. Do you think you could get to JFK within the next two hours?" Tony asked as he quickly clicked through an airline's website finding a flight that was leaving relatively soon.

"Yes, I will be there."

"Okay, Shmeil. Thank you. I really mean that. I'll have a ticket waiting for you at the service counter and once you're here I will be able to tell you why she needs you. I will pick you up at the airport." Tony told the man as he pulled out his credit card and booked the flight for Shmeil to take.

"Anything for my Ziva, Tony," Shmeil told him.

Tony waited by baggage claim as the passengers started to assemble for their bags to roll by on the conveyor belt. He spotted Shmeil's white hair first and then his worried face appeared before him. "Hello, Shmeil," Tony welcomed the old man as he accepted a warm hug in return.

"Shalom, Tony," Shmeil's wary voice murmured in his ear.

Tony spied the man's small carry-on bag, "Is that all or do you have another suitcase?" Tony asked as he motioned to the bag beside the old man.

"One more bag."

Tony nodded and turned towards the belt that had started to slowly move with luggage appearing from the opening. "Point it out and I'll get it for you." After a few minutes Shmeil pointed to a generic black suitcase and Tony hoisted it off the conveyor belt and pulled it on its wheels beside him and Shmeil walked beside him quietly.

Once Tony had the luggage in the trunk and Shmeil safely in his passenger seat Tony climbed in behind the wheel and steered the car onto the freeway.

"Are you going to tell me why Ziva needs me here?" Shmeil solicited.

Tony glanced over at him and then back at the road. "You're not supposed to know this, Shmeil. No one is. This can't leave the confines of this car or my apartment," Tony warned.

"I understand."

Tony swallowed, "Eli David is dead," he exhaled as he heard Shmeil's sharp intake of breath.

"H-how?"

"There was an ambush at our Director's house. Ziva and Eli were there for Shabbat dinner," Tony glanced over at the older man, "Eli was killed on the scene. Director Vance's wife died at the hospital. We can't have Ziva be by herself right now Shmeil. We don't know if this is isolated or not and to be honest… Ziva's a mess right now. I know it's to be expected, but… I just… I've never seen her like this."

Shmeil nodded. "I won't say a thing to anyone, Tony. I am here for Ziva."

"She's a real mess, Shmeil-"

"She and her Father were… well I'm sure you know, but he was still her Father."

"I know. It's just scary to see her like this," Tony sighed.

Pulling into the underground parking garage Tony maneuvered his car into his space and helped Shmeil out of the car and then retrieved the luggage from the trunk. As he led the older man to the elevator Shmeil put his hand on Tony's arm. "Thank you for calling me," Shmeil softly told him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Shiva**

**Gathering Ziva's List**

Tony jingled the keys in his pocket will clutching a twice-folded piece of paper in his other hand as he walked down the hall. He had Shmeil convince Ziva to write out a list of things she needed from her place since every time he tried she told him it wasn't necessary since she'd be leaving for Israel soon and she could just get stuff there. Once Shmeil had pointed out that she needed at least a few items for while they waited for her Father's body to be released she relented and wrote out the list. It turned into a longer list than she had planned, but Tony snatched it up before she could start crossing things off. After Ziva reluctantly handed over her keys he left her in Shmeil's care and headed to her apartment.

Whistling quietly he made his way to Ziva's door and pulled the keys. Once inside he took a quick look around to make sure everything seemed in order before making his way to Ziva's bedroom. Pulling a bag from the back of the closet Tony set on the queen-sized bed that sat between the two windows in the room. He opened the list and pocketed the keys as he read over it. Deciding that he'd start in the closet he pulled the slacks, two skirts, and half dozen shirts that she had listed. He carried the clothes to the bed and carefully folded them before placing them in the bag. He looked back to the list and saw that she had put down that she wanted her black dress- _the one in the very back_- she had noted and he went back to the closet and looked from one end to the other trying to decided which end she had deemed to be the back before he turned to his right and began to push the clothes in front of him out of the way. At the very back, as she had noted, hung a simple black dress. Carefully, he plucked it from the rail and took it to the bed, laying it out and ever so carefully folding it so it wouldn't wrinkle in the bag. Quickly Tony checked off the items on the list that he had placed in the bag.

_3 Scarves- they're in the box on the top shelf of the closet. Dark colored._

Tony stared at the request and blinked a few times as a slightly uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way. It was just a few scarves, but he still felt the flip-flop his stomach made as he lowered the box labeled as the one he needed. Opening the lid he stared into it. He never knew she had so many scarves. Gently he handled each of them. Cotton and silk were the main fabrics of her choice. Some had patterns, others were just solid colors. She had a number of dark colored scarves and he carefully studied them. He knew that he needed to make the right choices here. There was significance to the scarves and he couldn't just take ones that she wouldn't want to wear. Deciding that a black silk scarf was an excellent choice he laid it to the side before deciding on the next two. He held up two different scarves- a brown cotton and a gray with a black chevron pattern one. Deciding he dropped the brown one and opted for the gray, placing it with the black silk scarf. "One more," he murmured to himself in the quiet room. Digging around in the box his fingers slid over a brown scarf with a creamy, white lined and dotted pattern on it. He held it up and pictured it on Ziva's head before smiling in approval. He set the scarf with the other two and closed the box before placing it the box back where he had found it.

_Dresser-_

_4 casual shirts and pants_

_Workout clothes_

_Some stuff to sleep in_

_Nylons_

_Underwear and bras_

Tony blinked at the list, especially the last items. "Get it together, DiNozzo! It's underwear, not nuclear launch codes," he chastised himself. "You've seen her in less!" Starting at the bottom of the dresser and work his way up one drawer at a time he gathered the items on the list before coming to the underwear and bras. Taking a deep breath he opened the drawer and peered in. At first he just blindly plucked out a few pairs of underwear and tossed them in the bag before he finally decided to pay closer attention to what he was doing. Taking careful consideration of what laid before him Tony smirked at his position of going through Ziva's unmentionables. He thought of the dress that she had requested and looked at what would be going on underneath it. "She probably wouldn't want lines showing," he whispered. He looked carefully looked at his options and decided on a matching nude colored bra and underwear set. Before long he was picking out matching sets and putting them in the bag along with the others. He pulled a few items from the back of the drawer and let out a low whistle, "Ziva, Ziva, Ziva, you little minx!" He gleefully mused as he held up red and black silky underwear and bra set. "Do you wear this at work sometimes too?" he questioned to himself before putting them back in the drawer where he found them. "I'm not going to be able to concentrate well at work now."

He pulled the shoes and jackets that Ziva had requested on the list and put them with the rest of the stuff before deciding to go through the accessories that he spied on a vanity by the dresser. She hadn't asked for any, but he thought she might like a few items so he quickly picked through them choosing the ones that he always liked seeing on her and putting them in a jewelry roll he found in the drawer. He also picked out a few neutral shades of makeup and put it all in the bag with the clothes.

Taking a detour to the kitchen he found a few Ziploc bags in one of the drawers and took them into the bathroom where he grabbed her toothbrush, hair brush, razor, tooth paste, and shampoo and conditioner. He sealed them into the Ziploc bags and then took them to the other bag and put them in. Zipping up the bag Tony reviewed the list and gave a nod to each item that was packed away. Satisfied that he got everything on her list plus a few items he lifted the bag onto his shoulder and put the list in his pocket.

As he took one last tour of Ziva's apartment he stopped at a picture he had never seen before. The woman in it looked remarkably like Ziva, but he was certain it wasn't her. He held up the picture and turned the frame over and carefully removed the backing to see if anything was written on the back of the photograph. He gazed at the neat handwriting that he did recognize as Ziva's that stated that it was her mother. Placing the backing back on the picture Tony put it back in place. "I bet you're watching over her right now. She's something. I know she misses you. She doesn't talk about you much, but when she does it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that she misses you." He told the picture and then ever so quietly slipped out of the apartment, locking it up as he left and heading back to his place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shiva**

**Ziva's Dream, Tony's convo with Shmeil**

She rolled over with her eyes closed and Tony sighed at the rebuff. He watched her for a moment torn between letting her have her space and shaking her until she finally let it out. He was breaking inside for her. To see her in the kind of pain hurt him more than he ever knew was possible. Deciding that it would be best to not provoke her ninja tendencies while she was under the mental state she was Tony rose off the bed and made his way out of the room as her eyes snapped open at his leaving.

Tony shuffled past the couch trying to not to disturb the sleeping old man and went back to the kitchen. He pressed his head against the cool stainless steel fridge and heaved a sigh. All he wanted to do was make things right for her again, but he knew he couldn't. It wasn't possible to bring back the dead.

"Give her time." Schmeil's Hebrew accented voice broke through Tony's thoughts. Turning slowly Tony looked at the man who stood in the opening of the kitchen who stared kindly back at him. "I know my Ziva, Tony. She needs her time right now. I know it is hurting you, but give her the time. She will come to you when she's ready."

Tony turned back to the refrigerator he opened it and pulled out a couple of bottles he had chilling in the back. Motioning silently towards the table with a nod of his head Tony closed the door to the fridge and followed the man to the table and set a bottle in front of the elderly man before taking a seat himself. "How do I give her time when she's in so much pain?" Tony quietly asked as he opened his bottle of water.

Quietly Schmeil mimicked Tony's actions opening his own bottle of water. He studied Tony carefully. "You already have," he raised a wrinkled hand to Tony as he saw Tony about to say something, "you heard her crying Tony, I did too. It's not easy to get up at this age," he chuckled. "I watched you from the couch. She's quicker than lightening that one. You're lucky you took her gun." Tony sat silently as the man spoke to him, sipping on his water. "As a child Ziva was a strong willed little girl. She grew into an equally strong willed woman," Schmeil winked at him, "I don't need to tell you what you already know though."

Softly laughing along with the old man Tony nodded. "She's probably the most hardheaded woman I've ever met." Schmeil nodded as a smile spread across Tony's face. "I wouldn't change it though. She's perfect the way she is… well for the most part. I guess we all have our flaws."

Schmeil smiled and set his water to the side. Leaning forward, closer to Tony he dropped his voice to just above a whisper, "She gets it from her Mother. He Father was something, but the women in that family," he let out a small whistle, "feisty and hardheaded to the core."

"How do I give her time Schmeil? She needs to talk. Bottling things up the way she is isn't good for her," Tony implored the man who hadn't moved from his closer position. "I thought she'd talk to me. After the explosion at the Navy Yard we were stuck in an elevator for awhile. I thought we had gotten to a point of being open with each other."

"You are already doing it, Tony. You can't push her. If you push her too hard she will shut you out. You held her hand. You calmed her and told her that it's okay. That Tony is how you give her time." Schmeil sat back in his seat, "if you let her come to you she will let you in."

Tony heaved a sigh; the man wasn't giving him the answers he wanted. "How long do you think it will take?"

Schmeil smiled at the younger man, "sooner than you think, I believe. You will know. Just be there for her like you already have been." He capped his bottle of water and rose from his seat, "drinking water at this time of night is not the smartest thing at this age, Tony." He let out a small bark of laughter, "getting old is not for the weak."

Tony sat, hunched over the table as Schmeil made his way back to the couch. "That was a lot of help," he mumbled to himself.

"Tony?" Schmeil questioned from the French doors. Tony raised his head and looked to the man, "if you love her the way I believe you do you will know how to be there for her." A broad smile formed across his wrinkled face at the wide-eyed expression on the younger man's face. "Oh dear boy, we shared dinner together not long ago. You called me even though you knew you shouldn't. I see it when you look at her and I see it when she looks at you. The love is there. I know my Ziva is in safe hands with you and because of this I know you will find the right way to be there for her and have her come to you." The man turned and shuffled on to the couch.

Pulling the computer to him on the table Tony opened it and pulled up the browser. In a few clicks of the mouse he was at the translation site he trusted and had yet to fail him. Thinking for a moment he hovered his fingers over the keys before typing into the English box "You are not alone" and clicking the translate button to see it in Hebrew and spending the next hour saying it over and over again before he felt he had it right.


	4. Chapter 4

**Shiva**

**Leaving Ziva at the airfield**

He watched as she walked to join Shmeil on the way to the airplane before turning and walking out of the gate. Opening the door to his car it was all Tony could do to force himself behind the wheel. He sat there staring out the dash window at the plane. He wanted to jump out of the car, run up to the plane, and join Ziva and Shmeil on their long flight to Israel, but he knew he couldn't so he stayed rooted to his seat and watched the plane as it taxied the airfield and rose into the sky. He sat there for a long time after the plane was out of sight before starting the car and pulling away.

Gibbs looked up from his book as Tony appeared in his living room. "They get off okay?" Gibbs inquired quietly.

Tony plopped down in the chair with a nod, "Yeah."

Gibbs pulled a beer from under the coffee table and sent it over to Tony with a simple flick of his foot. "She'll be okay Tony."

"I know. I just feel like one of us should've gone with her," Tony mumbled as he pulled the beer up off the floor by his feet. "She should have protection."

"And by somebody you mean you," Gibbs stated bluntly as he marked his page and put the book on the table in front of him. "She's a trained assassin, Tony. She'll be okay on her own. She's going for a funeral."

"That's what she said."

"Then trust her. Tomorrow we'll bury Jackie and be there for Vance. We'll go back to the office tomorrow night and see what we can do to track Ilan. Ziva will be home before we know it and you can put your worry aside."

Tony studied his boss. "Ya think they'll let her back to work right away?"

"I'd like to see them try to keep her away," Gibbs snorted.

Tony joined him in the laugh, "yeah, she'd break their legs."

Gibbs raised his beer to Tony in agreement. "She's a helluva woman."

"That she is," Tony said raising his beer in return before going quiet and brooding with worry and Gibbs returned to his book letting his young agent be with his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shiva**

**More Like Home**

The car slid easily into its space in the underground garage and Tony killed the engine. He blinked at the wall before him and idly wondered how he had made it home. The last thing he really remembered was sitting in Gibbs living room with a barely touched bottle of beer in his hand. Autopilot always bugged him since the days Ziva had spent in Somalia. He spent a summer on autopilot and swore he'd never go to that zone again, but here he was, home and not really sure how it happened. "Damn," he murmured as he walked up to the elevator, but turned from it and started up the stairs, taking them two-at-a-time.

Walking into his apartment Tony left the door hanging open and secured his gun in the gun box that he always locked it away in. Turning he looked to the door waiting for Ziva to appear, but the humbling reminder that she would not be joining him hit hard. He had forgotten that fact during the time it took him to climb the stairs. Walking over to the door he closed it and sat down on the landing. From what he could see from the window it was still dark outside, but the light he had flipped on as he came in flooded the living room. He rested his arms on his knees and looked around. It was different. Everything in his apartment felt different. Only days ago he had it looking like something that belonged on a page in an interior design magazine and now as he scanned the place he saw the air-mattress he had slept on sitting, waiting, by the kitchen. There was a crimson colored blanket thrown haphazardly over the back of the couch. He had found Ziva curled up in it that morning with a cup of tea in one hand, her curls plied on her head, chatting away with Shmeil in both English and Hebrew. She was smiling, sadly, but smiling nonetheless. There were a few magazines that covered the coffee table and an open DVD case lying in their midst. Tony grunted as he got up and made his way to the table and picked up the case, turning it to see the title on the cover, _The Godfather_. He smirked and looked to the DVD player knowing that's where the disc was and decided to let it be for the night. Reaching down he started to straighten up the table, but ended up just dropping the magazines back to it and letting them be.

Moving to the kitchen, kicking the air-mattress on his way with a curse falling from his lips, he looked around. There were a few dishes in the sink that he immediately moved to the dishwasher and he could see the newspaper still spread across the dining room table from where he stood, his computer sat in the middle of the table. Letting out a heavy sigh Tony continued to look around. His place looked different and it felt different. It felt… empty. Before it was his sanctuary, his place to come when he got off of work and needed to rest. Now it was more. It wasn't just his sanctuary; it was where Ziva had taken refuge, where he brought Shmeil to help comfort her. It didn't feel like it was just his anymore. He had opened it up, quite willingly, to Ziva and Shmeil and now it felt more like a home than just an apartment. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms across his chest contemplating how he felt about that. His eyes wandered back to the dining room table that was no longer looking spotless and out the door of the kitchen to the air-mattress and gave a shrug. It finally felt how it should. Pushing off the counter he moved to the table and looked down in the dim light. The crossword puzzle laid half finished before him, at pen peeking from beneath the paper. Reaching over he flipped the switch and flooded the room with light and sat down. He pulled the pen from its hiding place and began to fill-in a few of the words that Ziva hadn't gotten to before deciding to leave it for her to finish when she got back.

Yawning, when did he get so tired? He wondered as he made his way into his bedroom. It looked the same, yet looked completely different. He passed by the bed and went to the adjoining bathroom. Looking in the mirror he could see the bags and dark circles under his eyes. "Sexy," he snarked to his mirror twin and splashed some cold water to his face. He brushed his teeth and got ready for some sleep. The bathroom was even different. Ziva had kept it relatively neat, but the towels were folded and hung differently on their rails. The toilet seat was down. He inwardly groaned at this fact. One thing he liked about not living with a woman was that there was no fighting over the seat. He flipped the seat back into his preferred position. Moving back into his bedroom he shucked most of his clothes, leaving him in just his boxers, and dropped them into the hamper in the corner. Evaluating the differences in his room he noticed that Ziva had left a sweater wedged between the mattress and footboard. Carefully he pulled it from its spot and laid it across the footboard so it wouldn't wrinkle anymore than it had. He'd hang it on a hanger in the bathroom when he took a shower in the morning to steam out the wrinkles that had formed on the garment already. He glanced at the bedside table and noted that she had left one of her numerous ponytail holders there under the small light that shone softly under the shade. He crawled into the bed that wasn't made like he would have done and reached to turn off the light, but decided to let it be since Ziva had slept with it on. Pulling the covers up to ward off the chill he felt creeping into the empty apartment he inhaled slightly, then deeply. That's what else was different. The apartment smelled differently as well. He smelled tea and food from the Jewish deli down the street. It smelled of Ziva's shampoo and perfume. His bed especially smelled of her perfume and hair supplies and her general scent. He turned his nose to the pillow and he could smell Ziva even more.

Tony lay in bed with the smell of Ziva surrounding him and his mind turning over and over again. He wanted to sleep. He was tired and yawning, but the sandman hadn't made it to him yet so he was left with deep thoughts. Maybe it was really time to consider a change, time to take action and shake things up. His tired eyes wandered around the dimly lit room, a new bed maybe; something bigger, to fit two people. He inhaled Ziva's scent again. Maybe he and Ziva should finish all those unfinished conversations that they've had; the ones he could have sworn were leading to something more between. A dinner, one where she wasn't stood up, maybe it would be better to have that here, he thought. When she got home from Israel he could have her over and they could have dinner and finish all those unfinished conversations. Gibbs, Tony's stomach turned momentarily. He's not an idiot, Tony chastised himself, he knows, he always knows before the rest of us. If he and Ziva decided to change things between them, Tony couldn't bring himself to even allow himself to think the word relationship out of fear of tainting it and it not happening, Gibbs would just have to deal with it. He probably has a rule to get him out of breaking rule 12, Tony mused. He'd just have to tell him to use it because this was too important. It was time that he, Tony DiNozzo, set-settled down. His own mind stumbled over the thought. Even when he was with Jeanne and falling for her when he thought of settling down he didn't get the same butterflies that he was getting now. It was an act, he reminded himself, that's why. You knew it would never happen. This… this is real. This really could happen. Yes, Tony thought, it was definitely time for a drastic change and from earlier in the night when he saw Ziva off he was certain that she felt the same way… he hoped. Turning his head once more and pulling the covers to his chin the scent of Ziva assaulted his nose and the room darkened as sleep claimed him in his apartment that now felt more like a home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Shiva/Past Present Future**

**Ziva speaking of Tony at her father's funeral**

Shmeil sat quietly in the chair next to the window as his watchful eyes fell on the young woman to his left. Sunlight washed over her from the window she stood infront of as memories of her childhood played in her mind. He knew this wasn't easy for her. The man she was remembering was the same man who had hurt and betrayed her countless times, but one thing remained the same throughout it- the man was still her father, her abba. The man who had swung her around in the air after she giddily ran towards him after he had been away for a little bit. He had taught her many things and teased her about her stubborn bossiness. He read her bedtime stories and told her stories of her family's history. He had cared for her when she became ill with a cold, spoiling her with her favorite things to make her smile in the midst of her misery. He may have hurt her in unspeakable ways, but that never changed the fact that deep down inside of her she was still abba's little girl and now her abba was gone. She had asked for a few private moments before dealing with the gathering of people who had come to his funeral and so he sat as the buffer between her and the people. The voices of the others in the room hummed to his right as she stood silently in remembrance.

Her demeanor changed slowly and her hand fell from the window frame that it rested on and to the dress she was wearing. She ran her hand over the material and a small smile played at the corners of her mouth. Shmeil knew that she was no longer thinking of her father, but of the man who had packed the dress for her and he smiled knowingly. He had seen the feelings that they shared with each other- but never voiced- when they had dinner together and then in the man's living room when he had suddenly appeared before her with a gentle "there's my Ziva," falling from his lips as he pulled her into a warm, comforting hug and she quietly thanked the man that had brought him to her. Shmeil let her have her moment, but knew that if she was starting to think of him she was nearly ready to face the crowd. Ziva took a shaky breath a few moments later and glanced to the old man to her left, her eyes gave a silent nod of readiness and then she moved from her spot and into the crowd.

Hugs, handshakes, words of condolences washed over Ziva from many people. Some people she knew, others she did not. She graciously accepted them and reminisced when they told her a story about her father. When things had settled and some people had filtered out of her father's house leaving a decent handful of people behind Ziva began to have the time to talk more freely. A group of friends and acquaintances had gathered around her as they shared stories and caught up on each other's lives.

"That was a beautiful eulogy, Ziva," a friend of her father's praised her in the middle of someone's story of their child's latest antics. Ziva smiled in return and the man continued on, "you mentioned a man… Tony, was it? Who is he?"

Ziva softened at the mention of Tony's name and Shmeil stood at the ready to whisk her away if she became too uncomfortable to speak about him with these people. "Tony… Tony is my partner at NCIS," she explained softly, the smile from by the window playing on her lips once more as she began to finger the material of her dress once again. "He is a friend… a very good friend," she continued.

"He sounds like a good partner," Deena's voice sounded from beside Ziva, the bitterness in her voice masked as she could see that there was more than met the eye on Ziva's 'partner'.

"Very much so," Ziva affirmed. "He has… he has been a wonderful support. He can be infuriatingly childish at times," she laughed at Tony's movie references parading through her head, "but he is an amazing man. He can surprise you with his patience and understanding. He is very thoughtful in his own unique way…" she paused then as the memory of Thanksgiving flooded her every senses. Her smile at the memory was radiant and her voice held a tone of awe when she spoke again. "I was unable to go to the opera on Tali's birthday this year," she started again. "There were no tickets available by the time I was able to order them. I… I was devastated and when I finally told him why I was in such a mood he arranged something for me." She glanced at the people around her. Her face was open, unguarded for the first time in a long while, "everyone was expected for a Thanksgiving meal at the home of someone we work with, but he told them that I would be late. I was ready to go, but he stopped me in the office and told me how sorry he was that I would be unable to go to the opera to remember Tali on her birthday and then he picked up the remote to the sound system and Puccini began to play. I could not believe my ears. He handed me the remote and told me that if I closed my eyes maybe it would be like I was at the opera and maybe even Tali would be there with me." Ziva's sighed dreamily at the memory and her hand came to rest across her Star of David as she blinked back a few tears and she smiled in the softest of ways. The gathering smiled at her completely understanding that her feelings for the man that she just spoke of ran deeper than those ordinarily reserved for a partner that one worked with.

"He sounds like a lovely man," an older woman who had been a mentor to Ziva in the past told her. Ziva nodded in return.

"Who's a lovely man?" Malachi asked as he joined the group. He stopped to give Ziva a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before murmuring a few words of comfort in her ear.

"Tony," Ziva filled in after she thanked him.

Malachi smiled knowingly. "Ah, yes, Tony."


	7. Chapter 7

**Past Present Future**

**The search for Ziva**

_Tel Aviv, Israel_

Tony closed his laptop after he had filled in Gibbs, McGee, and Vance on the newest developments in the search for Ziva. Orli had said it all at Mossad Headquarters when she gave him the file on Ziva. She had left on her own and was no longer considered to be in danger.

Reaching over he picked up the file again and flipped through the pages. He wasn't ready to just let Ziva go like that. He wasn't willing to let her disappear into the ether as if she never existed. He had told everyone back in DC that and they all agreed that while she may no longer be considered in danger by Mossad they needed to know that she was safe. Vance had signed off on his orders- Find Ziva- and told him to check in regularly. Gibbs had stared him down from beside Vance, quietly telling him that he'd be checking in with him first and not Vance.

Leafing through the file Tony began to form some ideas where she could be and started a list of places to look. Jerusalem, Ziva had mentioned that she went there after her father's death and it was easy enough to get lost in its crowded streets. It was the perfect place to run to when you wanted to escape the world and still be in plain sight. Cyprus was next on his list. The island was only a short flight away and a hot spot for tourism and she had always mentioned how much she liked it. She could've gone there to cool off before returning to DC, he thought. Morocco- Casablanca to be exact- he scribbled down next on the list. It was a long shot he thought, but maybe his endless movie references finally made some impact on her and she go there in hopes that he would think of those references and come find her. He stared at his list, it was only three places so far, but if he knew Ziva as well as he thought he did he could guess her next move even before she made it.

_Jerusalem, Israel _

The hour or so car ride to the east felt like it took days and when he arrived in Jerusalem he couldn't help at marveling over the ancient city that was so hotly contested over… did it belong to the Jews, the Muslim, or the Christians? A question for a different time he had muttered to himself as he walked the streets, his eyes darts from one person to the next and down alleyways that Ziva could hide in. He spent three and a half days searching for her there and if she was there or had been there no one was saying. He had almost got into a physical fight with a man in the Old City on the second day there when he had questioned him on seeing Ziva or not. He thought the man had been holding back on him and knew where she was, but after a few heated words and some light shoving he backed off when police made themselves known and a few members of the IDF had zeroed in on him.

She's not in Jerusalem, he had told Gibbs when he video chatted with him after returning to Tel Aviv.

_Cyrups_

He boarded a plane the next morning and headed to Cyprus. The island had been a welcomed change of scenery from Israel. His search started as soon as his feet hit the ground. He showed Ziva's picture to anyone he came across. A few said that they recognized her, but they couldn't tell him where they recognized her from. Well, except for one who had stared at the picture for a few seconds longer than the others and asked him if she wasn't the daughter of the former director of Mossad, the one who was killed in America, right? Tony nearly screamed in frustration over that. Maybe he would never get a straight answer considering who she was connected to. He searched the island as thoroughly as he could for a week, but short of a sun burn he came up empty handed. Ziva wasn't there.

Not Cyprus, Boss, he told Gibbs again. By this time Gibbs and McGee were filling him in on the going-on's back home. They needed him to bounce ideas off of and when he swore that he'd find Ziva in Casablanca Gibbs started telling him what was up at headquarters.

_Casablanca, Morocco_

The flight had taken Tony longer than he anticipated. He had to go through a few locations just to get there and he was none-too-happy about it. Ziva had to be waiting on him at this point he had thought to himself as he hoisted his bag on his shoulder and blocked out the sun with his glasses. He had looked from one side to the other after exiting the airport, wondering which way to start. He turned left and then spent the next few days criss-crossing the city in search of the wayward Israeli that had waltzed into his life eight years prior and now he couldn't shake from his mind or heart. Nine days he looked for her there, nine fruitless days.

He had laid in his hotel room on the ninth day and cursed into the silence after making his video call to Gibbs. His boss didn't need to tell him that he was disappointed that he hadn't found Ziva yet; his face had told him when it fell after not seeing her beside him on the screen. He asked for more time, he'd come up with another place that she could be and Gibbs had relented his argument for him to return home because he had to know that she was safe too.

He drifted off to sleep at some point and that's when the answers to where she was crept into his dreams. He had it all wrong; Ziva was haunted by her past, not her future. She had to be going back through her life and he had just wasted nearly a month looking for her in the future. He had woken with a start, thinking that maybe she had laid low somewhere in Israel until then, nursing her wounded leg and he could still catch her when she traveled through her history. Pulling out the file that he had looked through so many times over the last few weeks he began to formulate his next move. It came to him just a few pages from the bottom of the file: Amman, Jordan. He knew the name of the city well. He knew it was where Ziva's mother had been killed; she had revealed that to him during the summer that Gibbs took his little hiatus from NCIS. He booked his flight before the sun rose in the sky.

_Amman, Jordan_

The grumble that rose from Tony's throat at the sight of more sand turned more than a few heads when he landed in Amman. He was getting sick of it quite frankly. He missed the concrete jungle of DC, but he was excited. He was sure that Ziva would be there. She had had enough time to let her leg heal and would be able to travel more freely now. He may have taken a little vacation of sorts, but he couldn't be that far behind her now.

He showed her picture in one of the souks and when the old man sitting behind the table looked at it he could tell he had struck pay dirt. The man looked at him and back at the picture and back, his eyes weary, unsure if he should tell him the truth.

"Why should I tell you if I have seen her?" he had asked, his voice gruff. Tony had decided to play the emotional card.

"Have you ever loved someone so much that it literally hurt you to know if they were okay or not?" he had pleaded in return. It did the trick because the old man handed back his picture of Ziva with a nod and told him that she had been by the day before and that she looked to be okay, just… sad. It was his first confirmation that his dream had been right and it carried him on a high for the rest of the day as he searched for her. Ziva was there. He was so close!

He excitedly told Gibbs the news when he checked in that night and Gibbs told him that it was a good job, but now he had to actually find her.

The following day Tony had set out to comb the city following the information he could remember from his conversation with Ziva many years before. It was in a town square around lunch time that he looked out from where he was hurriedly eating to see a glimpse of a woman who looked remarkably like Ziva scurrying along the sidewalk. He had thrown money on the table and abandoned his meal as he chased after her, but he lost her in the crowd.

Ziva had heard about the man who was looking for her and she knew it was time to leave. She headed straight for the airport, her next destination already decided.

Tony had followed to the airport a few hours later thinking that he may have spooked her for whatever reason. He looked around the concourses for her, but couldn't find her. Defeated he went to the only place he could think of that would be able to find her- the ticket counter. He waited as best he could until it was his turn at the desk and when the young woman looked up at him and asked for his destination of choice he put out Ziva's picture and began his speech. It was the same speech he had given for days and he could recite it in his sleep:

"Have you seen this woman? I'm trying to find her. She may be in trouble and I need to know that she's okay. Please look at the picture, really look at it. Think back and try to remember. Have you seen her?"

The ticket agent looked at the picture and gave him a skeptical look. "She may be in trouble?" she had asked and Tony nodded eagerly. She looked from one side to the next and Tony gave his most charming smile in hopes it would make her divulge the information he needed. She tapped away at the computer for a minute and gave a nod. "I have seen her," she revealed. "My records show that she booked a flight for Israel; it departs in twenty minutes. She did mention something about Meron."

Tony nearly jumped the desk to kiss her for the information, but decided against it. "Can I get a ticket for that flight?"

"I'm sorry, sir, it is filled. There is one that will leave in three hours. I am sure you will catch up with her quickly."

Tony agreed to the later flight and made his way to the gate he was directed to, five days in Jordan and he had his fill. As he passed by another gate the last passenger for the flight it was loading pulled her scarf close to her face as she glanced over her shoulder. She had felt him, she always knew when he was near and she couldn't help but think, _he should not have come. She was not someone who deserved to have another search for her._

_Meron, Israel_

Israel, his old friend, he had thought as his feet landed back on its soil, be kind to me. He rented a car and took off for the northern part of Israel. The dusty land gave way to mountains and green in areas. When he arrived in Meron late that night he asked the woman behind the desk at the inn he had pulled into if she had seen Ziva and she hadn't. He expected as much. Too many people around that she could have sought shelter with. Israel was foreign to him, but to her it was filled with friends and extended family. She had the upper hand here.

Meron wasn't that big, Tony had realized the following morning and it made him hope that he could find her quickly. He flashed her picture at everyone who came along and every time he was rebuffed. He was a stranger, Ziva was not. They would protect her.

Tony spent three weeks investigating Meron. He knew Ziva had been there the whole time, the vibe from its inhabitants told him as much. They would avoid him at all cost, some even crossing the street so not to cross his path directly. It was on his last day while sitting in the back corner of a café that he heard the whispers from two older women that he heard her name and Egypt in the same sentence. He didn't need much help putting the pieces together. Egypt had been where she had taken Tali, of course she would go somewhere that brought her memories of her into vivid focus.

When he communicated with Gibbs that night he was in Tel Aviv, a ticket for Egypt already waiting for him at the airport. He had learned that Ziva had a day's head start. Before signing off Gibbs gruffly told him to think about a shave.

_Cairo, Egypt_

Tony didn't waste any time after the plane landed, he went straight for the opera house. He found the closest hotel and checked in before staking out a place to watch for Ziva. He'd lay in wait and grab her before she had the chance to get away from him again. It was a reasonable plan in his head. He was tired and running out of space in his passport for stamps. If she circumvented his attempts to at least speak with her again it might be the last time. Gibbs was already getting irritated and suggesting that it might be best to come home and let her follow him for a change, not to mention he really needed his senior field agent back at his desk. It had been two and a half months since he had gotten his badge back and he had spent every day since then trekking around the Middle East and northern Africa.

When the crowds would gather for performances he scrutinized the faces of everyone that came near the place. He was growing desperate. He spotted her on his thirteenth day staking out the cultural center. She had managed to slip in a side door before the performance, but made the mistake of exiting the front after. He watched her from afar as she hurried to a waiting taxi. He didn't want to scare her off and had made the decision that it might be best to tail her to her hideout. His plan failed though because in the sea of taxis that were leaving the opera house he had lost her once again. He waited around the next day to ask every taxi driver if they had worked there the night before and if they had driven the woman in the picture that he showed them. The taxi driver that had taken Ziva away from the place approached him late in the afternoon to tell him that he had heard of his search and had taken her to the outskirts of town.

Tony had made his way to where the hired driver had told him to go and spent the next three days looking for her there. When he found the rundown motel that she had been staying in the owner just sneered at him and told him that if she was smart she had gone back to Israel. Obviously he was not a fan of Israelis, but more than willing to take their money.

When he returned to his hotel and his trusted file he sat in front of it for awhile, pouring over the pages that it held. He scratched at his beard that he had long forgotten to shave as he flipped from one page to the next trying to decide which part of her past would be her next stop when on the last page it popped out like him like a neon sign: Be'er Sheva. The place she had been born.

_Be'er Sheva, Israel_

Once again on Israeli soil and once again speeding down their roads in a rented car Tony headed to the south. The middle of the Negev was home to Ziva's birth place and as the endless sand passed by his windows he made his way there. It wasn't a long drive, just about an hour, but he was itching to get there.

Something in the air was different and he was certain this time he would catch up to her. He pulled into the desert town he pulled over to the side and looked over the address on the paper that he had stared at the whole flight back. Carefully he pulled back onto the road and watched the signs. He got turned around a couple of times before he turned onto the road that lead to the house that Ziva had been born in, the start of everything for her. He bumped down the road that needed a good repair job and stopped in front of the house. From where he sat in his car he could see her in the window as she flitted around the kitchen, stocking it with what she had bought at the store. He had finally caught up to her this time. She only had a half day's head start and was obviously tired of outrunning him because otherwise she would have changed course.

He slipped from his car and walked up to the door, rubbing away the aches and kinks that travel had brought along with it. At the door he debated if he should knock or if he should just walk in, but he must have debated too long because the door opened before he could decide and Ziva glared at him.

"You should not have come, Tony."

"I've heard that one before," he retorted. He was far from pleased with his welcome.

Ziva sighed and waved her hand into the house and he followed her request. Neither said much at first. Tony could barely keep his eyes off of her. His brain thought she could be a mirage brought on by too much travel, sun, and sand.

"Do not tell them you have found me," she requested after a long while of them sitting in the living room of the house.

"They're worried about you, you know? I have been too."

Ziva shook her head. "No one should worry about me. You should call Gibbs. I know he wants to talk with you."

"I should check in," he conceded as he got up to fetch his laptop and headed to the patio for his conversation with Gibbs.


End file.
